First Raw Milk Cheese--Success so far

[mjr522]

Well, it's been a long time since I was last on here.  A quick update, for those of you who remember me:  I did get accepted to all the schools I applied to, but decided to go to UT Knoxville.  We moved from Colorado Springs to Knoxville, and I've been working on my PhD in Energy Science and Engineering for a few months now.  My wife (and I) also started a business making wooden decorations.  With the move, school and business, I haven't had time for cheese,  until this weekend.

A friend from church found a raw milk supplier for us, we bought a share of the herd, and they are willing to give us 10 gallons at a time instead of the standard 1 gallon/week.  This means I should be making cheese every couple of months (quite a bit less frequently than my previous every couple of weeks, but at least I'm doing it again).  We followed Caldwell's MAC instructions for Cheddar. 

Everything went great.  The only exception was that floc time was a little longer than I expected (about 18 minutes).  That was partly because I couldn't find my notebook (moving is frustrating in some ways).  I also reduced the culture by about 25% from what I recall normally adding to store bought milk.  I was very impressed with the strength of the curds when I cut into them--they didn't break really at all.  In general, everything went really well.  We'll see in a number of months how it turns out.

[scasnerkay]

It is nice to see you on the forum again, and good luck on the cheddar! I just opened a cheddar made in August from the Caldwell recipe, using raw Jersey milk. It was pretty good!! A cheese to you for getting into schools and for getting back into cheesiness!

[JeffHamm]

Good to see you back Mike!  Nice looking cheddar.  I've found fied's Cheshire make to be a very good cheddar (I've made it a couple times now).  Also, Dunlop is anther cheddar that has consistently produced a nice result for me.  Finally, I've cut into a 9 month old Derby that is really good!  (Despite the home books, Derby doesn't go through the cheddaring phase according to the British Cheese Board (see here http://www.britishcheese.com/derby), so I went looking through some old books from the 1800s early 1900s and found a description of the protocol, which I adapted for home use.  It's on the board somewhere. 

Anyway, if you like the cheddar types, those are all good ones and all of them age out nicely.

- Jeff

[Al Lewis]

Glad to see you back Mike!!  Sounds like everything is working out for you.  Glad to hear that.  Doesn't look like you've lost your touch with cheese.  That's a beauty there!  AC4U buddy!!

[Danbo]

Looks nice - it deserves a cheese... :-)

[qdog1955]

Think you are going to be happy with the raw milk cheese -----the flavor improvement in mine was wonderful.
Except a cheese for a fine looking cheese.
Qdog

[mjr522]

Thanks, everyone!  I'll keep you all posted on how this guy turns out.  The new cave seems to be working fine so far, though it's pretty cold here right now.  We'll see how it performs when summer comes.

[mjr522]

Well, I finally opened up this cheese. It has great texture, and melts really well. Unfortunately, it appears to have the same mouth numbing effect and some of the not-so-good flavor as the other cheese made with this milk.http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,15664.msg119715.html#msg119715



If it is butyric acid that causes this flavor and mouth experience, I'm guessing it's from something in the raw milk. That's disappointing because the cheese making went so well compared to other milks that I have used. Bummer. I made another cheese a few weeks ago with milk from this farm. I won't age it as long, so we'll see how it turns out.

[Fritz]

Too bad Mike... That must be frustrating.
I hope you find the source of this off flavour and mouth numbing thing...
I know you said you will try a shorter aged cheese.. Good plan.. You really need to nip this in the bud... Before it drives you nuts!
May I suggest... A fast (instant eating) cheese like Queso Fresco, should offer quick test results.. Then maybe a havarti .. Then maybe a Caerphilly... each one needing slightly longer aging times to see if you can replicate and narrow down the possible cause to this anomaly. I say this so you don't have to wait too long to figure this out ..and gives enough variety of cheese types to see if it manifests again under certain conditions.

Good luck man..

[Bantams]

Oh bummer!  Very frustrating.
Butyric acid is a common problem in Parm style cheeses, but I don't know about Cheddar.  Aging it for 16 months could certainly allow the butyric acid to develop. 
How is the salt level in these two cheeses?

Were both made in the winter?  Ask the farmer if he feeds silage in the winter.  They should just be on pasture with some hay at this point in the year, so maybe make cheese now but not in the winter?

[jwalker]

It's almost certainly your milk , try another.

Or gently pasteurize your milk first.

This is what's in your milk :

Bacillus subtilis, known also as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, is a Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium, found in soil and the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants and humans. A member of the genus Bacillus, B. subtilis is rod-shaped, and can form a tough, protective endospore, allowing it to tolerate extreme environmental conditions.

It is what reacts with lactose and creates butyric acid , I get it in my raw milk cheeses as well if aged too long , luckily I make mostly younger or mold ripened cheeses.

Your cheese may not be acidifying properly.

[Fritz]

Clearly, my short term cheeses idea is irrelevant... If this is what it is..sorry, I thought it was in all cheeses not just aged raw milk cheeses. The pasteurization option may work.

[Bantams]

Jwalker, I'm having trouble finding anything that indicates that Bacillus subtilis causes trouble in raw milk.  It is naturally present in cattle guts and is even fed as a probiotic to increase milk production.  Also, it is not killed by pasteurization, so I would think it would be an issue with all milk, not just raw milk.

I do know that silage is prohibited in the diets of cows that produce many of the name-controlled well-aged European cheeses for this reason (Parmigiano-Reggiano for one).
I wish I could point to a link, but the info I have is from a cheesemaker who spoke to Peter Dixon and Margaret Morris, so I'm just going from memory.

They had made some Grana style cheeses from whole raw Jersey milk that had that pronounced fruity/tingling flavor.  None of the raw milk cheeses made before or after had that problem - only these that were aged 18-24 months.  The main issue was too high butterfat, and not enough salt.  And a different culture might have helped, but unfortunately I can't remember that detail.

Mike, I am very curious to hear if this farm feeds silage in the winter.  I wouldn't worry about this too much - just stick to cheeses aged <10 months for your next few. 

[Kern]

I always add Lysozyme to my long aged raw milk cheeses.  It kills gram positive bacteria and is used commercially by many cheese makers.  It is also used to help prevent secondary fermentation in wine.  I've found it at beer and wine making supply stores on-line.

[Fritz]

According to Kerns wiki.... Crying over (spilled) milk really does help